European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 4, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                When preposition police become preposterous James j. Kilpatrick. The writer s a tetters continue to come in from readers b who believe that a preposition must never b appear at the end of a sentence. This is a Rule implanted by ignorant pedagogues of. Another time. The supposed Rule is no Rule . A a a a a a this is what we Are talking about a a from time Magazine last Jan daiy Quot then Kerrigan took off for California to shoot a Reebok commercial a just the sort of lucrative Deal Harding dreams  a from columnist Ellen Goodman also writing about ice skater Tonya Harding Quot she was also abused by her husband whom she divorced but then moved Back in with.�?�. A from Usa today last november discussing political junkies Quot it s a topic that sundays new York times Magazine devoted a cover Story  it would take a truly tin eared writer to believe these perfectly acceptable sentences would be improved by recasting them. A just the sort of lucrative Deal of which Harding dreams a arg by her husband whom she divorced but Back in with whom she then moved double a arg a a it a a topic to which sundays new York times Magazine devoted a cover Story gracious / such stilted constructions grievously offend the writing Art. The venerable . Fowler condemned them Long ago. For a horrid example he used the. Sentence a that depends on what they Are Cut  the sentence is not improved said Fowler by a that depends on with what they Are  an4 often he notes a the lust of sophistication once blooded becomes uncontrollable and ends with. A that depends on the answer to the question As to with what they Are  a professor George Curme the Foremost american grammarian of this Century took the same sensible View. He observed that Many words that appear to be prepositions Are in fact prepositional adverbs Quot Jack fell  other apparent prepositions Are integral parts of the governing verb a come now let us Saddle  other constructions Are idiomatic a what is that boy up to a in sum let us cease worrying about a a a rules that never was a Rule. It is not something we have to live with. To. Von something else entirely some months ago i staunchly defended Meg Greenfield for a sentence in one of her fortnightly essays for Newsweek. She was writing about the fiasco that developed when president Clinton nominated Bobby Inman to become Secretary of defense. Public figures she said ought not to be thin skinned. A i mean that they have to establish if you will some kind of hard shelled Comfort level under  a a a a a a / v,.&Quot a. A the controversy developed Over her Little phrase a if you  i found nothing amiss in the usage. I thought it a civil insertion a kind of Grace note a spot of Oil to lubricate the wheels of discourse. A number of surly readers wrote in to say that a if you will was a waste of words and space. Well the last word comes from Meg Greenfield herself. She wants no defense staunch or otherwise. She writes a i Side with those who Are against a if you  it is an Arch phrase that i believe i Hadnot used before and one that i habitually edit but of other Peoples copy. It was there to Call attention to the phrase a Comfort level a which Inman himself had used in another context. But it was too cute even Coy it and  have been there .�?� harrumph despite megs renunciation i will not Retreat. To be sure there Are times when such an inoffensive interpolation is out of  Culpeper a Star exponent sponsored a youth forum last january. The idea was to let teen agers speak publicly about their problems and feelings. The paper urged adults to provide financial support a to be the fertilizer if you will for their continued  that was not a felicitous employment of a if you will a but i persist in making my original Point. We do not have to write Bare knuckled prose All the time. Sometimes it is Nice to Wear gloves. Universal press Syndicate a Bush talk from the governor of Texas by Mike Kelley Austin Texas american statesman Stop the presses. A Ann Richards called George w. Bush a it a y vat a rally in Texarkana the other Day this is what the governor of Texas said a you just work like a dog you do Well the test scores Are up the kids Are looking better the dropout rate is Down and All of a sudden you be got some Jerk who a running for Public office come and Tell you that its All a Sham and Isnit real and does no to give you any credit for a thing you be done. And that is exactly the Way i feel.�?�. A a mercy. A a a a a aa1 the Story i read about this said that reporters travelling with the governor huddled to determine whether this was news. A of course this is news. This is big news. A Texas politician has called another Texas politician a Jerk. The mind reels. A. The Bush Camp of course deplored this theft official position is that George w. Bush is not a Jerk. R they Are Adamant about it. The people of Texas for All of whom i shall now speak Are shocked and appalled. We Are sick to our boots. It is not going too far to say that we View this with  a a there arc those partisans i suppose who will defend gov. Richards on the grounds that during the 1992 presidential Campaign George w. Bush a father referred to or. Clinton and or. Gore As  Tough talk All right. But my dictionary says that a Bozo is one who is rough Burly uncouth whilst the same tells us that a Texas gov. Ann Richards is running for re election against George w. Bush son of the former president Jerk is a person regarded As stupid Dull or foolish. I put it to Yoh. Would you rather be thought of As rough and uncouth or stupid Dull Andt Bolish i think we can clearly see that using a a Jerk escalates the rhetorical Battle to unpriced entry Savage Heights. Too there May be a very Strong sympathy Factor at work in this episode. Only Days ago right Here in Austin George w. Bush assured us that he has a been involved with every Community i be Ever been involved  i done to see  anybody can argue with that and calling someone with that kind of commitment a Jerk could put the governor on thin ice. It is always possible that she was not referring to or. Bush . What she said was Quot some Jerk who a running for Public office the number of jerks running for Public office at a Given time i believe we can agree is legion. Or. Ambrose Bierce who can Al Ayabe counted on for a Good quote said that politician is a an eel in the fundamental mud Upo which the superstructure of organized society is t / end a ,.he mistakes the agitate of his Tail for the trembling of the edifice. As Cor pared with the statesman he suffers the i Sadvari and Elevation of the political discourse is prec re Tharah in ins myself a Man of letters u doing on your report card7�?� would have preferred that she had referred to a opponent As a Dunder head. It Means almost exactly the same thing yet it certain. Tone. A Cox news Servlia. Tony Kornheiser is on vacation. Page 24 sunday september 4,1994